EP REVIEW: Your Future Is Metal – Your Future Is Metal
Let’s take a look at two of our scene’s biggest bands at the moment: GHOST and SLEEP TOKEN. Aside from being marmite bands, what do they have in common? Alluring frontmen bringing dehydration to the yard, yes, but that’s not what we’re getting at. There’s an air of anonymity. Masks and pseudonyms rule the roost. An effective campaign to garner attention. So imagine the expectations when we’re told YOUR FUTURE IS METAL has nameless ghouls among the ranks.
YOUR FUTURE IS METAL is the brainchild of Johann Saul (vocals/guitar) and Salaryman Ben (drums). The ex-members of WEATHERED HANDS and REAL AUTHORITY gather their hired guns and release their self-titled debut EP: five tracks of heavy metal which promise to dabble in the macabre art of the maniacal – somewhat big words which carry some INSANE CLOWN POSSE tendencies to them as well.
Is the image of what this band is trying to be sat in the mind’s eye yet? Fabulous. Now discard that. Ultimate Power starts things off with a cool rock type riff bordering on grunge more than doom or progressive metal. As we’re encouraged to “transcend the higher feeling”, we can’t deny there are also some heavy punk influences within Saul’s vocal range. What takes us by surprise are the growls at the end of the chorus section. “I’m the one who sits upon the throne” sits atop a bed of crunchy riffs. This song is incredibly catchy, we’ll give it that, but it’s not without its faults. Mainly the acoustic section at song’s close. Sure, it flows into Do You Want To Dance (With A Wanted Man)? nicely, but the quest for continuity does come at a slight detriment.
As we mount the steel horse for this dance with an outlaw, there’s something rather pop-punk about the track. The instrumentals sound bright and somewhat optimistic, though the riffs soon evolve into sticky metal with a wonderful grind on the fretboard. The chorus section may take this dance in another direction with its slower momentum but the pace is soon picked back up again. Until it isn’t. Proceedings are halted for a distorted guitar instrumental and we’re left wondering what’s actually happening for a moment. Things become clear with the solo leading into us being branded “my sacrificial lamb” rather than a lovely dance partner. Macabre? Only slightly
When a band regales us with promise of “maniacal lyricism”, we expect “maniacal lyricism”. It seems Vortex Of Souls steps up to the plate to try and deliver that. Talk of when “Father Death came and took you from it all” breeds lovely imagery, sure, but it doesn’t draw us in the way YOUR FUTURE IS METAL hopes. The song is catchy nevertheless and we appreciate the faster solo mimicking that of the titular vortex. Will we remember it after EP’s end? No. This seems to be the running theme of the EP as When Jekyll Hydes has the same impact. Its commentary on the duality of man and what makes people a monster is wonderful in the moment. Yet that moment is fleeting. Even its dalliance around the 12th fret creating a crunch many mosh pits would open to is lost soon thereafter.
Seemingly clutching at straws for shock value, we close with .357 Magnum Opus. For those unaware, the .357 Magnum has been branded as the most powerful combat powder cartridge ever devised. The better the powder cartridge, the more powerful your firearm is (we do not encourage you to go play with guns). With this knowledge in mind, we have to wonder whether this “twisted and alone” individual is teetering on school shooter territory. It definitely presses a few buttons in terms of the maniacal if it does, but even then, the melodic licks and unnecessary solo towards the end put a silencer on this magnum.
We circle back to a term we used at the top of the review: marmite band. Does YOUR FUTURE IS METAL fall under that category? Not really no. It would mean they had elicited a strong reaction in either direction. The EP’s alright enough if you’re in need of a small slice of background noise while you’re engaged in something else. That’s about it. If our future is indeed metal as this band name indicates, we may just be off for genre pastures new.
Rating: 5/10
Your Future Is Metal is out now via self-release.
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